1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for evaluating thermal comfort of a structure and an assisting method, program or system for designing a structure in consideration of thermal comfort. In particular, it relates to a method for evaluating thermal comfort of a structure and an assisting method, program or system for designing a structure based on thermophysical properties of a translucent member (such as a window glass sheet, a glass plate used as an outer wall of an atrium, a plastic plate, a plastic film or the like) used for a structure (such as a vehicle, a train, a ship, an aircraft, a space shuttle, a building and so on) and each part (such as a wall or floor material) constituting the structure, and based on a shape of each part.
2. Discussion of Background
It has been known that thermal environment in a vehicle or a building changes largely by the influence of solar radiation incident through window glass sheets. In order to control such influence of solar radiation, various articles such as a solar reflection glass sheet, a solar absorption glass sheet, an insulated glazing glass sheet and so on are presented by glass manufacturers.
These glass sheets are generally evaluated based on an insulation performance such as a transmittance of solar radiation, a gain of solar heat and so on ruled in JIS R 3106. However, when the insulation performance is evaluated by only physical characteristics of glass itself, it is difficult to know thermal sensation that a human feels actually. As an attempt of solving such problem, there is a proposal that a thermal manikin formed in consideration of heat generated from a human body (a dummy doll for reproducing thermal characteristics of a human) is prepared and a heat loss from each human part (such as a head part, a chest part, arms, legs or the like) is measured by using the thermal manikin to examine the thermal sensation.
However, even when such thermal manikin is used, it is difficult to examine individually a thermal effect that each part (a window glass sheet, a seat or the like) constituting a vehicle body affects a passenger. In the conventional technique, there is no way other than the study of the influence obtained by considering all factors of solar irradiation transmitting through window glass sheets, and radiation and convection on each part. Accordingly, it was difficult to examine quantitatively contribution of each part, and it was difficult to select the material, property or shape of each part which can provide the optimum thermal comfort in the passenger compartment.
Further, even though the thermal effect of each part could be examined by using the thermal manikin, an actual examination was not easy because a prototype of a room or the passenger compartment of a vehicle was required in order to evaluate the thermal environment of the room or passenger compartment. Further, the thermal manikin is a very expensive device because it is provided with a large number of sensors and heat sources to reproduce the thermo-regulating function of a human. A patent document 1 (JP-A-2001-155052, p. 1–7) discloses a method for selecting a glass sheet and a patent document 2 (JP-A-10-239161, p. 1–8) discloses a technique of simulating thermal environment. However, these documents do not disclose that simulation is conducted in consideration of a precise shape of human body.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for evaluating thermal comfort of a structure and an assisting method, program or system for designing a structure in consideration of thermal comfort, which can easily be carried out without requiring a laboratory equipment such as a prototype.